Meet The Team

Michael Weir CEO - Belfast Photo Festival

  • CEO

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    Michael, holds a postgraduate in Executive Leadership from Ulster University and is a photography graduate of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. 

    Since 2009 Michael has been the Director of Belfast Photo Festival and initiated as well as curated numerous commissions on exhibitions of contemporary photographic art. He has crafted varied programmes of artist talks, symposiums, residencies, workshops, films and exhibitions over the course of ten festival editions. Noteworthy artists include  Ai Wei Wei, Vivianne Sassen, Alec Soth, Roger Ballen, Hannah Starkey and Robert Mapplethorpe.

    Delivering Belfast Photo Festival for over 16 years has meant overseeing significant growth and stability during a prolonged period of adversity - namely the economic downturn and pandemic crisis. Michael has excelled in creating and maintaining a national and international profile through strong artist, partner and funder relationships, brand and audience awareness, alongside active financial management, proactively seeking and diversifying income streams.

Toby Smith - Belfast Photo Festival

  • Director of Development & Fundraising

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    Toby has over 17 years experience in the photography sector with a specific emphasis on positive social and environmental impact - especially innovation in public engagement around environment, equity and participation in lens based photography. 

    Toby graduated from the Ma Photography course at London College of Communication before embarking on a successful international photojournalism career with representation by Getty Images and clients including National Geographic, the Guardian and the BBC. His work has been exhibited internationally at the V&A, Natural History Museum Vienna, Somerset House with collaborative projects funded by numerous NGOs and philanthropic funders. 

    Before joining the Belfast Photo Festival, Toby led the Climate Visuals project in establishing a global image library, measurable impact, policy and exhibition initiatives. The project developed into an internationally recognized and trusted brand through development and delivery of major international partnerships with delivery supported by philanthropic fund-raising and consultancies. Toby has been both lead author and commissioner of research to highlight and positively influence the lack of diversity in photography and improve engagement with Indigenous Communities.

  • Design & Digital Marketing Assistant

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    Stewart is a digital marketer with a background in the unscripted television industry, with a portfolio spanning 10 million YouTube views, 60 million TikTok views, and 1 billion GIF views. Credits include Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? for ITV, Flinch for Netflix, and Second Hand Style-Up for Channel 4.


    Other achievements include launching Spot The Glitch on Facebook Gaming, speaking at Belfast Media Festival 2019’s Best Jobs You’ve Never Heard Of panel, and winning Runner Up Social Media Marketer Of The Year at NI Social Media Awards 2022.

  • Events & Production Assistant

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    Erin recently returned to Belfast after completing her English degree in Trinity College Dublin. She is an events and production assistant with an interest in creating engaging, accessible experiences for audiences. During university, she gained hands-on experience in event operations, arts promotion, and music journalism. 

    Erin works for Queens Film Theatre in a front of house role and enjoys working with the public. She is passionate about the local arts scene and is eager to grow within Belfast’s cultural industries.

  • Events Producer

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    After recently moving back to Belfast from London, Josie is excited to explore the city’s vibrant arts scene and bring her wealth of experience to the festival. With a background in corporate advertising Josie has honed her skills in managing events from concept to delivery.

    Josie is passionate about working with creatives to bring their visions to life and is no stranger to collaborating with photographers, crew, and vendors. Her experience spans virtual and in-person events, and she’s adept at juggling multiple projects.

  • Events & Production Assistant

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    Paddy is an Events and Production Assistant with a background in the photography and film industry. He has a degree from Ulster University in Photography and Video and 5 years experience in the photography and film sector. 

    Paddy started his career as a photographer assistant and moved into working for galleries. He has previously worked on the installation of other artists' work and historical exhibitions through his previous jobs. Through his work in the camera department in film he gets to use his passion of creativity, working with cameras and collaboration with other creatives. This love for this form of work has been translated into his current Events and Production Assistant role. 

Board Members

Gareth Neill Belfast

  • Chair Person

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    Previous to his current role as Director of Portview Trade Centre, Gareth was Business Improvement District Manager for Destination CQ, which oversees the Belfast Cathedral Quarter, one of the city's most vibrant inner city neighbourhoods. He has been lead on strategic development, marketing and communications, capital project management, event development and management, and business planning across a number of creative industry projects. He is a self-motivated team player with a successful track record of creative application, project management, business improvements, best practice and good governance. A dynamic communicator, Gareth quickly establishes an effective network of business relationships with stakeholders at a local and international level.

  • Treasurer

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    Ian brings his expertise in accountancy from his background as a Chartered Accountant. Ian also sits on the board of the Royal Ulster Academy and the Crescent Arts Centre. He has excellent knowledge of employment law having sat on Industrial Tribunal for 12 years and also brings impeccable general and business knowledge to the team.

  • Alf currently works as a freelance consultant helping organisations develop and implement business development, organisational, fundraising, CPD, education, cultural and public affairs strategies. Alf previously worked as Country Director for the British Council and served as the UK’s lead for cultural relations between the UK and Ireland. The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.

  • Josh is the Managing Director of Innovate_, an agency he founded to help social enterprises and impact-driven businesses grow and scale. His focus is helping organisations grow and scale, working with both private and social enterprises. His background includes roles within the National Trust, PwC, London local authorities, Social Housing providers, and technology start-ups, where he led teams in strategic growth, operations, fundraising, and large-scale project management.

Sarah Allen Photography

  • Until recently, Sarah was a curator at Tate Modern and has recently joined the South London Gallery as Head of Programmes. Sarah has worked on a number of major shows, the most recent being Shape of Light, the first blockbuster exhibition to explore the relationship between photography and abstract art. Before moving to Tate Modern, Allen worked at a string of leading galleries, including The Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin, The Guggenheim Museum in New York, and The Photographers’ Gallery, London. Among the high-profile photographers she’s worked with is Mark Ruwedel, who recently made it on to the Deutsche Borse Photography Prize 2019 shortlist with his show The Artist and Society, curated by Allen.

  • Justin is Head of Bids and Markets Northern Ireland at A&L Goodbody, a leading corporate law firm serving domestic and international businesses, financial institutions and government. He has worked in the sector since 2008 — previously spending over a decade with professional services firm KPMG, where he provided advice on some of Europe’s largest infrastructure programmes alongside capital schemes in arts and culture.

Andrew Hassard Mango Bikes

  • As Managing Director of Mango Bikes. Andrew rescued the company administration and relaunched January 2018. Focussed on building a team, brand and audience that loves Mango Bikes and to make them famous globally.

  • Savannah Dodd, PhD, is an anthropologist and photographer. She founded the Photography Ethics Centre in 2017 with the aim of raising awareness about the ethics of making and sharing photographs. Her work is dedicated to advancing ethical literacy, visual literacy, and media literacy, spanning all forms photo-realistic visual media, inclusive of photography, video, VR, and AI. She has contributed substantially to the contemporary discourse on visual media ethics. Savannah holds a postdoctoral fellowship at Queen’s University Belfast. She sits on the UK committee of the Ethical Journalism Network, on the EDI advisory board at Photo Museum Ireland, and on the board of Source Magazine. Her edited volume, Ethics and Integrity in Visual Research Methods, was published by Emerald in 2020.